1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a terminal fitting and a method of producing it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a female terminal fitting includes a rectangular tube into which a male tab is inserted. The rectangular tube is formed by a pair of side plates that stand at right angles from opposite left and right side edges of a bottom plate. A ceiling plate extends from the upper edge of one side plate to the upper edge of the other side plate. A pressing portion extends from the upper end edge of one side plate to the bottom plate and is placed on the ceiling plate to prevent it from opening. When the pressing portion is placed over the ceiling plate, the rectangular tube is often too bulky.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,747 discloses recessing an area of the ceiling plate where the pressing portion is to be placed by pressing to make the terminal fitting less bulky. However, pressing the ceiling plate creates other problems as explained herein.
In addition to adding to the bulk of the terminal fitting, the pressing portion limited the number of terminal fittings that could be coupled to a carrier. Generally, several terminal fittings are coupled to a carrier in a chain-like manner before the rectangular tube fitting is formed. When the pressing portion is pressed into the ceiling area of the plate, the narrow intervals between adjacent terminal fittings are deformed because the parts to be pressed are located at opposite ends of the terminal fittings. Therefore, the pressing plate required adjacent terminal fittings to be set sufficiently far apart to allow for the expansion caused by the pressing. There is also a concern that the pressing could cause a local thinning of the plating layer.
The invention was developed to increase the number of terminal fittings that can be coupled to a carrier and to make the terminal fitting less bulky.